Current Affairs 21- 22 September, 2019

1. World Alzheimers Day is observed on 21 September

• World Alzheimer's Day is observed on 21 September every day.
• The month of September is dedicated to bringing awareness about Alzheimer's and other dementia conditions.
• Per 2018 World Alzheimer Report, over 50 million people worldwide suffer from the disease. The number that will almost double every 20 years, reaching 131.5 million in 2050.

• The International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day, is observed all over the world by the United Nations (UN) annually on 21st September.
• The day aims to strengthen the ideals of peace and recognises the efforts of those people who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. The theme of this Day for 2019 is ‘Climate Action for Peace’.
• The theme focuses on the need of fighting climate change by protecting and promoting peace throughout the world.
• The day was first celebrated in 1982, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples.In 2015, the United Nations (UN) member States adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ((SDG) including poverty, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment) to obtain peace from focusing on the economic and social development.

3. Chandrayaan-2 is 98% successful, Gaganyaan our next priority: Isro chief K Sivan

• K Sivan said that while they were trying to establish contact with 'Vikram', the orbiter's life had increased to 7.5 years due to the optimal mission operation though its designed life was one year.
• Chandryaan-2 has achieved 98 per cent of mission objectives and India's next space priority is the launch of crewed orbital spacecraft Gaganyaan by end of next year, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K Sivan said.
• The ISRO chairman advised IIT students to take a risk and be innovative to achieve success in life. Innovation comes with a high level of risk and failure. It may sound crazy, but initial outcomes of innovation could be imperfect. In fact, most of the successful innovations of the world come from crazy ideas, he said.

About ISRO
1. Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
2. Headquarters: Bengaluru
3. Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
4. Founded: 15 August 1969

4. Famous filmmaker Shyam Ramsay passes away

• Bollywood’s famous horror film producer Shyam Ramsay passed away. He helmed horror movies like Andhera (1975), Saboot (1980), Purana Mandir (1984), Purani Haveli (1989), Dhund: The Fog (2003), Koi Hai (2017).
• He pioneered the horror genre on Indian television too, giving us the first horror series- The Zee Horror Show which ran from 1993 to 2001.

5. Former Dutch football player Fernando Ricksen passes away

• The former Rangers and Netherlands football player Fernando Ricksen passed away at the age of 43.
• He earned 12 caps for the Netherlands between 2000 and 2003.
• In six years (2000-2006) with the club of Rangers (Glasgow, Scotland), he also won 2 Scottish Premier League titles, 2 Scottish Cups and 3 Scottish League Cups.

6. Overview Of EAM Dr S Jaishankar’s Visit To Finland

• The External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India, Dr S Jaishankar made an official visit to Finland from 19-21 September, 2019. It was his first visit to Finland, after assuming charge as EAM.S Jaishankar’s visit to Finland
• He was received by Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic of Finland.He unveiled the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Helsinki, sculpted by Gautam Pal. It was gifted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India to the Government of Finland to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji.
• He also met the Indian community in Finland; Visited the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and delivered a speech on “India and the World – Priorities of Indian Foreign Policy”.

About Finland:
1. Finland is the new president of the European Union Council.
2. Capital: Helsinki
3. Currency: Euro

7. Shri Amit Shah launches Emergency Response Support System ERSS- Dial 112

• Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services of the Chandigarh Police, in Chandigarh. The services include the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS - Dial 112), ‘E-Beat Book’ System and the ‘E-Saathi App’.
• The ‘Dial 112’ emergency response service is an initiative to strengthen proactive community policing that would end confusion amongst distress callers, who at times end up dialling 100 in fire or medical emergency cases.
• The Emergency Number for Road Accidents (1073),Women Helpline (1091, 181), Child Help Line (1098), including other Helpline services would be added under the 112 unified emergency response number.

8. Max Bupa and Indian Bank signed bancassurance corporate agency agreement

• A state-owned financial services company, Indian Bank has signed a bancassurance agreement with a standalone health insurance player, Max Bupa to provide Max bupa’s suite of health insurance products to its customers.Max Bupa and Indian Bank signed
• The product portfolio comprises Max Bupa’s both retail & group health insurance products besides Indemnity and Fixed Benefit products.
• In South India, Indian Bank has a strong presence. Through this partnership, Max Bupa will deepen the penetration of its wide range of product offers and enable more customers to access their risk solutions anytime, anywhere.

Foot Notes:
About Indian Bank:
1. Founded:  15 August 1907
2. Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu
3. MD & CEO: Ms. Padmaja Chunduru
4. Tagline: Your Tech-friendly bank

About Max Bupa:
1. Founded: 2008
2. MD & CEO: Ashish Mehrotra

9. BoB launches agri digital platform called “Baroda Kisan”

• Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services company,Bank of Baroda (BoB) has an agriculture digital platform called “Baroda Kisan” in Bardoli, Surat,Gujarat. It is a web-based portal that can also be accessed by farmers through mobile.
• The digital portal will address all the various needs of farmers, including weather forecasts, crop conditions, the moisture levels of the soil,vital information on crop worms, market prices, special crop-related consultation, inputs for purchase of seeds ,fertilisers, pesticides, agricultural equipment on rent, consultancy services and innovative financing options for the sale of agricultural products.
• BoB has also launched a system for centralised processing offices of agricultural proposals in two places, Gandhinagar in Gujarat Hyderabad in Telangana.

About BoB:
1. Founded : 20 July 1908
2. Headquarters : Alkapuri, Vadodara, Gujarat
3. MD & CEO : PS Jayakumar
4. Tagline : India’s International Bank

10. Actor Govinda appointed as the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh to promote the state’s traditions and tourist places

• Public Relations Minister of Madhya Pradesh government PC Sharma notified that Indian Bollywood actor Govinda, aged 55, is appointed as the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh to promote the state’s traditions and tourist places.
• The government also has plans to set up a film city in the state.Brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh

About Madhya Pradesh
1. Governor: Lalji Tandon
2. Capital: Bhopal
3. Chief minister: Kamal Nath